It was the kind of game the Tampa Bay Rays needed for some time.
OK maybe not the rain and the 2 hours 4 minute rain delay.
But the early lead the tack on runs the easy night.
Throw in a loss by Texas earlier in the day and Saturday turned out pretty well for the Rays who climbed into a tie with the Rangers for the Wild Card lead with a 7-0 victory against the Minnesota Twins at soggy Target Field.
“Definitely it makes it a little easier a more relaxed win instead of a one-run game where you’re still kind of a little tight” said center fielder Desmond Jennings whose two doubles after the rain delay produced the final three runs of the long night.
The win was the third straight for the Rays – their longest winning streak since they won three straight from Aug. 18-20.
It’s quite a change for a team that was scrambling for its postseason life after Wednesday’s 10-inning loss to the Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field.
“I would just say the overall demeanor in the clubhouse the energy that’s in the air it’s a lot better to be around” said Matt Moore whose start was cut short to three innings because of the rain delay. “It’s a lot easier to smile a lot easier to cutup and be yourself where when you lose seven eight in a row or whatever it was. For a while it was pretty bad. You almost kind to start to pay attention to more things than you want to pay attention too.”
Actually the Rays slide included a five-game losing streak inside a run of one win in eight games.
But is this winning streak enough to declare the fog has lifted around a team even if Saturday’s win was just their seventh in their last 20 games?
“I think we’re on our way” manager Joe Maddon said. “It’s getting better. You still want to see more I think. But it’s getting better. What I’m starting to see is a greater looseness about the group. They’re starting to relax a bit which is good and I think once we do that we’re going to start playing our typical game. But let’s keep on pushing. It’s looking better. I believe in things. I believe it’s going to continue to get better but I still don’t think it’s there yet.”
The Rays were a relaxed bunch Saturday.

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